The above song, a one-hit wonder from 1971, is a particularly historically and culturally situated lyrical consideration of signs — in the denotative sense, surely (actual posts and placards containing written messages), but also in various connotative senses.

Semiotics, as outlined in the Danesi reading, can be a lot to get your head around. If you'd like more in-depth background on signs, codes, texts, and more, look to this excellent primer, "Semiotics for Beginners," particularly parts 1, 2, 7, and 9.

Participation! Consider this image below, indicating the appropriate gender of restroom facilities. Does it look more like a man than a woman? Why? What is indexed? What is symbolized?

We have grown up to believe that it looks more like a man. When we see restroom facilities, we are able to differentiate which sex is which bathroom. Due to gender formation, we automatically believe that the woman's sign is feminine because it's wearing a dress, whereas the men's sign is opposite.

Reply

Clayre

1/27/2016 12:33:49 am

Participation :

This sign resembles more a man than a woman. The reason is the fact that the image presents no feminism, and the depiction of the person provides no specific indication of female attributes. Indexed is the subconscious need for identification by societally deemed norms when differentiating between male and female [such as a dress as opposed to a pair of pants]. Symbolized is the social definition of gender as a male and female as determined by a set of characterisitics.

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Thomas Conner

2/19/2016 11:27:45 am

Consider your response here. You say the stick figure is male because it exhibits no female attributes. I would suggest it doesn't show any male attributes, either. The assumption that the figure is male because it does not show any further identifying features is precisely what we mean in our discussion of the unmarked/privileged side of a social binary!

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Xinyi Zhan

2/18/2016 05:50:58 pm

This sign resembles a man more than a woman. Maybe it's based on the subconscious idea we have formed since childhood that this sign symbolizes men room and the one with dress on symbolizes women. Also, this sign is somewhat angular without tenderness of female. That's probably why I think it resebles a man more than a woman.

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Jason Ma

2/27/2016 01:22:25 am

To me, it's always been apparent that the symbol representing males has always had broader shoulders, and a straight/tall figure even if it isn't actually taller than the symbol used to represent females.

There is also the illusion that the woman has her legs closer together due to the width of the skirt relative to the man. It's a lot like if you put a large circle vs a small circle next to another circle, its relative size appears to change.

Going along with Freud's theories and everything we've learned about gender roles within the media/spectacle, the sign subconsciously reinforces gender roles and just as importantly, aligns with these roles, relying on them to more clearly signify which bathroom is for who.